The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Granny Liu and Granny Yu were terrified and scrambled forward, grabbing Old Madam Pei's legs on either side.

"Please spare me, Madam! Please calm your anger, Madam!"

Granny Liu's face was covered in blood, and she was crying with snot and tears streaming down her face.

"It's all my fault, no matter how many times it's wrong! But the most urgent thing is to quickly summon the royal physician to help the lady with her pregnancy!"

Granny Yu also shouted desperately.

"Yes, yes! If things escalate and reach the palace, it won't do the Pei family any good!"

"Besides, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is suffering from a flare-up of dizziness today and is not feeling well. Even if you go to Shou Kang Palace, you won't be able to see Her Majesty the Empress Dowager!"

Old Madam Pei's cane hovered in mid-air, her chest heaving violently, as if she were weighing the pros and cons.

A moment later, she snorted coldly and slammed her cane heavily on the ground.

"Go! Quickly go and fetch the royal physician!"

Taking advantage of this moment, the old lady turned her head and winked at Jiang Guo'er.

Jiang Guo'er understood immediately and, together with Lü Yi, carefully helped Xue Lingyi up and slowly walked towards the inner room.

Xue Lingyi was still pretending to gasp for breath, clutching her stomach.

Jiang Guo'er lowered her head, secretly relieved.

Fortunately, the old lady reacted quickly.

Old ginger is spicier!

Before long, the physician from the prefectural hospital arrived in a hurry, carrying a medicine box.

This physician was Pei Yan's confidant. He had been informed beforehand that if anything unexpected happened, he should follow the arrangements made by Jiang Guo'er and Xue Lingyi.

After a cup of tea, the family physician came out carrying his medicine box, his face solemn, and bowed to Old Madam Pei in response.

"Reporting to the Dowager Madam, the lady's pregnancy... has barely been saved."

He paused deliberately, his tone full of worry.

"But the lady was greatly frightened, which affected her pregnancy, and she was in danger of miscarrying at any moment."

"You must stay in bed for the next few days and absolutely cannot afford to make any further mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Granny Liu and Granny Yu were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, their faces drained of color.

Old Madam Pei grabbed her cane and gave the two old men another good beating.

They beat the two men until they were rolling around on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, before finally stopping, panting heavily.

"Fine."

Old Madam Pei took a breath, slowly managing a dry laugh as she looked down at the two half-dead old women on the ground.

"You are the Empress's people after all. If I beat you to death, I will not be able to explain it to the Empress."

She turned to look at the physician, her eyes revealing a sinister glint.

"Bring a few bottles of the best wound medicine and apply it properly to the two old women."

Upon hearing that they wouldn't die and could even receive medicine, Granny Liu and Granny Yu immediately kowtowed in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Madam! Thank you so much, Madam, for sparing my life!"

The physician pulled out two white porcelain bottles from the bottom of his medicine box, walked over, and poured the powder onto the wounds on the two men's heads and faces as if it were free.

A few breaths later.

"It itches, it itches so much, why is it so itchy!"

Granny Liu gripped her cheeks tightly with both hands.

An excruciating itch, mixed with a burning pain, spread instantly from the wound.

Granny Yu was so itchy that she rolled around on the ground, scratching her face and neck frantically, her fingernails filled with blood and flesh.

In the blink of an eye, the wounds that were just bleeding a moment ago have now begun to fester and emit a foul stench.

"Ouch...it's so itchy! It hurts so much! Old lady...what kind of medicine is this...?"

Old Madam Pei coldly watched the two people writhing in agony on the ground, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"What? I'm kindly offering you medicine, and you're still complaining?"

She turned around and sat down on the embroidered stool that Granny Qin had brought over.

"How do you two plan to report this matter to Her Majesty the Empress after you return to the palace?"

Granny Liu was in so much pain that her whole body was convulsing, but she had to desperately restrain the urge to scratch her face and answer indistinctly.

"I wouldn't dare! This old servant...would never dare to say a single bad word about Madam!"

"Oh?" The old lady leaned forward. "If the Empress asks how you got these injuries, what will you say?"

The two men were terrified and crawled to their knees at the old lady's feet.

"Please, Madam... please give me the antidote! This old servant was wrong... I will never dare to do it again!"

Granny Liu was in unbearable pain.

"This is all Her Majesty the Empress's doing... Her Majesty said that the Prime Minister's wife is carrying an illegitimate child, and ordered us old servants to use insects to test it..."

"We old servants are only following orders; we dare not disobey!"

Old Madam Pei's face was ashen.

She had long suspected that Xiao Yuzhen was behind it all.

"If that's the case, then write down exactly what you just said and sign it."

The old matriarch looked at them with a wistful expression. "You two have served in the palace for many years; surely you can write?"

Granny Liu and Granny Yu exchanged a glance, their faces filled with despair.

"This old servant...this old servant is illiterate..."

Old Madam Pei showed no mercy when she saw their miserable state.

This medicine is extremely toxic. Without an antidote, within three days, the flesh of these two old bastards will rot away completely.

Even if she survives and returns to the palace, what use would Xiao Yuzhen have for keeping two useless people by her side?

But the old lady was still worried.

"Illiterate?" the old lady scoffed. "Since you can't write or sign anything, then you don't need to keep your fingers either!"

"Guards, chop off all their fingers!"

The strong servants rushed forward and held down the two men's arms.

A flash of light, and blood splattered.

Jiang Guo'er hid behind the window of the inner room and saw the terrible scene outside clearly through the crack.

The strong smell of blood wafted in through the cracks in the window, hitting me right in the head.

Jiang Guo'er felt a churning in her stomach, covered her mouth, and forced herself to swallow the nausea.

The most she had ever witnessed in the power struggles within the inner quarters of the household was poisoning and sabotage.

It wasn't until they arrived at the Pei residence that they realized the inner quarters were also rife with murderous intent.

Old Madam Pei usually looks kind and gentle, but who would have thought that when she gets serious, she's just as capable as Pei Yan?

Seeing that her face was pale, Lüyi quickly stuffed a piece of ginger candy into her mouth.

"Stop looking at it, or you'll have nightmares tonight."

Lu Yi lowered her voice, her tone revealing a sense of satisfaction.

"These two unruly servants have always been arrogant and domineering in the palace. Today they've really met their match! They deserve it!"

Jiang Guo'er nodded slightly.

She deserved it, but what she just witnessed still made her heart tremble.

Meanwhile, at Youguo Temple.

In a windowless meditation room, Pei Yan was resting with his eyes closed, a few indistinct sounds drifting through his mind intermittently.

[I was so scared...there was so much blood...]

Pei Yan suddenly opened his eyes and abruptly stood up.

Something happened to Guo'er!

His face turned ashen, and he raised his leg to rush out.

But then a faint sound echoed in my mind.

Thankfully... the matriarch... Lingyi and I... are alright...

Pei Yan stopped in his tracks.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed the surging anger in his heart, and slowly reached out to rub his chest through his clothes.

It's good that you're alright.

Just as he calmed down, the door to the meditation room was pushed open, and several Imperial Guards strode in, their attitude even worse than before.

"Your Excellency, His Majesty has issued an imperial edict requesting your presence at the Great Buddha Hall!"

Pei Yan straightened his sleeves and followed the Imperial Guards out the door with a calm expression.

Inside the Mahavira Hall.

The emperor's face was flushed, but his little finger trembled slightly unnaturally.

Just now, Consort Yu was in the side hall, and I don't know what she said in bed.

At this moment, the way the emperor looked at Pei Yan was as if he wanted to skin him alive!

"Pei Yan, you've formed cliques for personal gain, and you still won't confess?"

The emperor slammed his hand on the table, his brow furrowed with murderous intent.

"Last year, Jiangxi suffered from floods, so money was allocated to repair the river embankments. Guangdong was hit by a locust plague, so granaries were opened to distribute grain."

"You acted on these two matters without consulting me, issuing disaster relief measures first and reporting later!"

The emperor grew angrier and angrier, pointing his finger at Pei Yan and cursing him.

"The people of the world all remember your kindness and praise you! But what about me? What have I become?"

"You are second only to the emperor, and all the officials in the court follow your lead! Do you even respect me as the emperor anymore?!"